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Story Hour
Modern/Delta Green - The Beginning of the End (COMPLETED)
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4774576" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p><strong>Angular Gods: Part 8 – ‘Umr at-Tawil’s Virtual Lounge</strong></p><p></p><p>“Tear it up!” shouted Hammer, firing his Glocks at the thing at the center of the servers.</p><p></p><p>Bullets had little effect. The thing shouldn’t have been working in the first place; its arrangement of wires and monitors made no sense at all.</p><p></p><p>The monitors lining both sides of the room powered up, screens flickering all around the figure. The fractal edges of a gateway yawned wide, beyond the edges of the computer screens. </p><p></p><p>“It’s creating another gate!” shouted Archive.</p><p></p><p>The fractal edges stretched upwards, through the walls of the monitors and up to the ceiling. A tentacle of wires shot out and grabbed Howell by the torso. The mechanical monstrosity disconnected itself from the web of computers and retreated through the shimmering gate.</p><p></p><p>Guppy didn’t need to be told what to do. He dove right in. </p><p></p><p>He was reduced to a series of pixels on the screens. The image gradually dwindled in size until it blinked out. </p><p></p><p>Guppy experienced intense needling of the skin as though he was being charged, and then an intense release of the charge akin to a static shock. </p><p></p><p>Guppy found himself an amalgamation of polygons in a bad virtual reality nightmare. He had stepped out of a newsstand on the street in front of a vast building of art deco style and bright neon lights.</p><p></p><p>Guppy looked over his shoulder. There was a low-resolution image of a window behind him. </p><p></p><p>Hammer and Archive stepped out of the window to join Guppy, similarly pixilated. </p><p></p><p>“‘Umr at-Tawil’s Lounge,” said Guppy breathlessly. “We’re here.”</p><p></p><p>Guppy looked up. The fractal universe was a Technicolor world of infinite detail and incomprehensible behavior. Huge, foamy mountains drifted in meaningless circles above them, while revolving fractal entities swarmed everywhere, bustling about their alien activities. </p><p></p><p>Shaking his head, he ducked into the Lounge. </p><p></p><p>The agents jogged up a set of stairs and passed through the main doors to gain access to the lounge. An attractive blue-skinned, bald woman sat at a desk before the entrance.</p><p></p><p>“I’m sorry but you’re not authorized to access this server,” she said.</p><p></p><p>Guppy concentrated and a keyboard appeared in front of him. He typed rapidly. </p><p></p><p>“What are you doing?” asked Hammer.</p><p></p><p>“Hacking the system,” said Guppy. “There.”</p><p></p><p>The administrator disappeared. They ran past her desk into the dance floor.</p><p></p><p>The dance floor was a large, open dance area with a glowing grid floor, multicolored spotlights, flashing strobe effects, and various DJs in floating music platforms. </p><p></p><p>Each time an avatar gets on the floor, it can choose music from one of the DJs to listen to. Thanks to complex programming, the DJs always play songs with similar tempos and lengths, so two avatars can dance together even if they’re hearing different music.</p><p></p><p>“The Tindalosians are trying to come through the gate,” said Archive. “They need a sacrifice to make the portal permanent.”</p><p></p><p>“I can find them!” shouted Guppy over the music. He tapped a few keys and the music stopped, although the other avatars, which ranged from weird furry anthropomorphic humanoids to odd stick figures, didn’t seem to notice. “I’ll just move us into the administrator’s lounge…”</p><p></p><p>The surroundings shimmered and were replaced as Guppy gated them directly to Howell’s location. </p><p></p><p>They appeared in private room with a conference table, vending machines, a sound system, and posters that changed over time. </p><p></p><p>Howell was strapped to the table. A silhouette of a man stood over her behind a strange, shimmering veil. </p><p></p><p>“Let her go!” shouted Guppy.</p><p></p><p>Tawil turned and pixilated tentacles launched themselves from beneath his veil. </p><p></p><p>Hammer got off a few shots. To his surprise, the bullets actually fired, raking the figure but having no effect. More tentacles tore the weapons from his grip.</p><p></p><p>Archive began to chant a defensive spell, but a tentacle snapped around his throat, choking off the words. He struggled futilely to remove it. </p><p></p><p>All the while, Guppy tapped furiously. His form shimmered and reappeared as…</p><p></p><p>A giant humanoid lizard with large, dragon-like ear fins. He roared and tore into Tail, shredding the tentacles. But it was a virtual world with virtual rules, and it just sprouted more and more. The crush of virtual tendrils threatened to overwhelm him. </p><p></p><p>Distracted by the assault, ‘Umr at-Tawil did not see the anime-style female with short flaming-red hair, huge red eyes, wearing a military-style jacket, miniskirt, gray thigh-highs, and black military boots rise up behind him. She wielded two huge 72mm artillery rifles, one in each hand.</p><p></p><p>There was a shocked moment of silence as Tawil turned to face the overwhelming display of force. </p><p></p><p>“GET OFF OF MY GAME!” shrieked the avatar of Dr. Lisa Howell. </p><p></p><p>And then the room was nothing but bullets.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 4774576, member: 3285"] [b]Angular Gods: Part 8 – ‘Umr at-Tawil’s Virtual Lounge[/b] “Tear it up!” shouted Hammer, firing his Glocks at the thing at the center of the servers. Bullets had little effect. The thing shouldn’t have been working in the first place; its arrangement of wires and monitors made no sense at all. The monitors lining both sides of the room powered up, screens flickering all around the figure. The fractal edges of a gateway yawned wide, beyond the edges of the computer screens. “It’s creating another gate!” shouted Archive. The fractal edges stretched upwards, through the walls of the monitors and up to the ceiling. A tentacle of wires shot out and grabbed Howell by the torso. The mechanical monstrosity disconnected itself from the web of computers and retreated through the shimmering gate. Guppy didn’t need to be told what to do. He dove right in. He was reduced to a series of pixels on the screens. The image gradually dwindled in size until it blinked out. Guppy experienced intense needling of the skin as though he was being charged, and then an intense release of the charge akin to a static shock. Guppy found himself an amalgamation of polygons in a bad virtual reality nightmare. He had stepped out of a newsstand on the street in front of a vast building of art deco style and bright neon lights. Guppy looked over his shoulder. There was a low-resolution image of a window behind him. Hammer and Archive stepped out of the window to join Guppy, similarly pixilated. “‘Umr at-Tawil’s Lounge,” said Guppy breathlessly. “We’re here.” Guppy looked up. The fractal universe was a Technicolor world of infinite detail and incomprehensible behavior. Huge, foamy mountains drifted in meaningless circles above them, while revolving fractal entities swarmed everywhere, bustling about their alien activities. Shaking his head, he ducked into the Lounge. The agents jogged up a set of stairs and passed through the main doors to gain access to the lounge. An attractive blue-skinned, bald woman sat at a desk before the entrance. “I’m sorry but you’re not authorized to access this server,” she said. Guppy concentrated and a keyboard appeared in front of him. He typed rapidly. “What are you doing?” asked Hammer. “Hacking the system,” said Guppy. “There.” The administrator disappeared. They ran past her desk into the dance floor. The dance floor was a large, open dance area with a glowing grid floor, multicolored spotlights, flashing strobe effects, and various DJs in floating music platforms. Each time an avatar gets on the floor, it can choose music from one of the DJs to listen to. Thanks to complex programming, the DJs always play songs with similar tempos and lengths, so two avatars can dance together even if they’re hearing different music. “The Tindalosians are trying to come through the gate,” said Archive. “They need a sacrifice to make the portal permanent.” “I can find them!” shouted Guppy over the music. He tapped a few keys and the music stopped, although the other avatars, which ranged from weird furry anthropomorphic humanoids to odd stick figures, didn’t seem to notice. “I’ll just move us into the administrator’s lounge…” The surroundings shimmered and were replaced as Guppy gated them directly to Howell’s location. They appeared in private room with a conference table, vending machines, a sound system, and posters that changed over time. Howell was strapped to the table. A silhouette of a man stood over her behind a strange, shimmering veil. “Let her go!” shouted Guppy. Tawil turned and pixilated tentacles launched themselves from beneath his veil. Hammer got off a few shots. To his surprise, the bullets actually fired, raking the figure but having no effect. More tentacles tore the weapons from his grip. Archive began to chant a defensive spell, but a tentacle snapped around his throat, choking off the words. He struggled futilely to remove it. All the while, Guppy tapped furiously. His form shimmered and reappeared as… A giant humanoid lizard with large, dragon-like ear fins. He roared and tore into Tail, shredding the tentacles. But it was a virtual world with virtual rules, and it just sprouted more and more. The crush of virtual tendrils threatened to overwhelm him. Distracted by the assault, ‘Umr at-Tawil did not see the anime-style female with short flaming-red hair, huge red eyes, wearing a military-style jacket, miniskirt, gray thigh-highs, and black military boots rise up behind him. She wielded two huge 72mm artillery rifles, one in each hand. There was a shocked moment of silence as Tawil turned to face the overwhelming display of force. “GET OFF OF MY GAME!” shrieked the avatar of Dr. Lisa Howell. And then the room was nothing but bullets. [/QUOTE]
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Modern/Delta Green - The Beginning of the End (COMPLETED)
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